Switch



Feb. 12, 1946. J MUDQN 2,394,712

SWITCH Filed Oct. 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ira/sai or: 7 Jud 0n WM ya/b TJ.MUDON Feb. 12, 1946.

SWITCH Filed Oct. 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FHTLQQ SWITCH Filed Oct. 11, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Inveniof f/iamas JMud'on Patented Feb. 12, 1946 Thomas J. Mudon,

Chicago, Ill., assignor to T. J.

Mudon 00., a partnership consisting of Ray S.

Launder and himself Application October 11, 1944, Serial No.v 558,207

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to switches. It is particularly directed toward the provision of a switch which can be actuated manually and the switch elements caused to operate at a predetermined time after the manual actuation. It is also a purpose of this invention to utilize a switch of this character in combination with a timing element comprising a suction cup and a movable plate engaged by the suction cup to determine the period of delay. a It has heretofore been proposed to utilize the release of a suction cup as a means of obtaining delayed action in the separation of switch contacts. Such devices, however, so far as I am aware, depend upon leakage through a channel into the space beneath the suction cup. My invention, however, does not work on this principle. According to my invention the suction cup is direction which will cause the suction cup to move in the plane of the surface on which it rests to the edge of the surface thereby to break the seal between the cup and the plate.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide in a device of this character a novel means whereby instantaneous release of the switch is accomplished by the same motion as normally is utilized to operate the switch for delayed opening, the movement being merely carried to a greater extent.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a delayed action switch utilizing a suction cup as a timing element wherein the'parts readily adapt themselves to the ordinary toggle switch a construction so commonly used for wall switches in houses.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention isshown. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional view on the line l-l of Figure 2 through a switch embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a face view of the switch with the cover plate removed;

Figure 3 is a. sectional view through the toggle switch and suction cup mechanism showing the parts in one position;

Figure 4 is a view partially in section of the mechanism shown in Figure 3 showing the parts in a changed position;

subjected to a pull in a be made of a plastic material Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5. of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side view of the switch with certain parts left out for the sake of clearness. This figure shows the elements of the mechanism whereby the delayed action of the switch can be.prevented When desired.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section illustrating the suction cup releasing mechanism utilized with my invention; and

Figure 9 is a sectional view Figure 8.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure 1 my invention is shown a applied to an ordinary wall switch having an Operating handle l0 which is adapted to operate a circuit e closing and opening member ll through a togglearrangement consisting of a plate l2 carried by the handle ill, a rocker l3 which is seated in a spring l4 and a lever i5 engaged by the spring H, the lever l5 being positioned to snap from contact-making position as illustrated in Figure 3 to contactbreaking position as illustrated in Figure l. The lever l5 has an extension It to which the suction cup I! is secured. This suction cup is adapted to' cooperate with a smooth-surfaced plate It to oppose the pull of the spring I on the lever i5 and thus delay the movement of the lever 15 to contact-opening position The switch mechanism thus far :i seal is mounted on a suitable receptacle 19 w ch ma This receptacle is secured to a mounting plate 28 by screws 24, The mounting plate 20 forms the base for supporting the switch parts hereinbefore described. The receptacle l9, however provides the means for supporting the contact member H and stationary contacts 22 and 23 that are connected by the member II. The construction of the stationary contacts 22 and 23 is believed to be obvious from the showing in Figures 2 and 5 A wiring terminal 24 is provided for each of the contacts 22 and 23. The movable contact member Ii comprises two parallel strip 25 and 26 whch are riveted to eachother and to a mounting plate 21 by suitable rivets 28. The strips 25 and 26 are e r ted at their opposite ends so as to receive the stationary contacts 22 and 23 between them and thus establish a wiping engagement between the contacts. The entire assembly of the movable contact member I l is carried upon a shaft 29 that is secured in a side wall of the receptacle IS.

on the line 9-9 of 2 aces-m The lever II has a projecting lug 30 which eX- tends into an aperture II provided in the member 21.

The toggle switch mechanism functions in the usual manner except for the fact that the suction cup ll prevents the lever l5 from snapping over from the position shown in Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 1 after the handle is moved from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 1. The path of movement of the extension I6 on the lever I5 is lengthwise of and away from the plate l8. This tends to slide the suction cup on the plate I! toward the lower edge of the plate. When the suction cup reaches the lower edge of the plate there will be less of its surface in engagement with the plate, and the pull of the lever I5 will accelerate the movement of the cup until it has advanced far enough to break the cup away from the plate. When this happens the spring l4 quickly snaps the lever I! over to the position shown in Figure 1. Thereafter, any time the switch is closed the lever II is returned to the position shown in Figure 3 so that the suction cup H is engaged with the plate l8 and is ready for another operation.

In order to vary the rate of travel of the suction cup on the surface of the plate I8, I mount the plate ill for pivotal movement about a mounting screw 32. I find that by changing the angle of the plate l8 with respect to the normal plane of the suction cup I1 I can get variations in timing. If the plate is directly parallel to the suction cup ll it will take the longest time to release. The release time then becomes shorter as the plate is tilted about the suction cup by turning it on the screw 32. A finger piece 33 is formed integral with the plate i8 and projects from the front of the switch so as to be available for changing the position of the plate.

For many purposes it is desirable to have the switch so arranged that the delayed action device can be released at the will of the operator. To accomplish this release I may employ the mechanism shown in Figure '7 or that shown in Figures 8 and 9. In accordance with the mechanism shown in Figure 7, the handle III is adapted to engage a spring 34 to use as a normal stop for delayed action of the switch. The spring 34 is carried by the face plate 20 of the switch. It is adapted to engage a bell crank 35 that is pivoted by a pin 36 to the receptacle 19. The bell crank has a plunger 31 secured thereto. The plunger passes through a guide 38 that is also mounted on the receptacle l9 and the free end of the plunger is adapted to extend through the plate I8 so as to engage beneath a portion of the suction cup I! and lift it away from the plate IS. The position of the plunger 31 with respect to the plate 18 is at the extreme edge of that portion engaged by the suction cup .so that normally the suction cup action would not be interfered with by the plunger and the plunger normally would be retracted to a position flush with the surface of the plate l8. However, when the handle I0 is moved beyond its normal stop position by applying additional force thereto, that bends the spring 34 to the position shown in Figure '7, thus causing the plunger 31 to lift the suction cup and effect an immediate release of the suction cup from the plate 18.

In Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings I provide a separate finger piece 39 in the face plate 20. This finger piece has a pointed tip 40 which is adapted to engage a projecting lip ll on a suction cup ll, The lip IT projects over the edge of the plate It. The plate II is cut away so it can swing without striking the finger piece It. The finger piece I! is mounted in a plug 42 that threads into the face plate III. A spring 48 is interposed between the head of the liner piece and the plug 42. The collar 44 is provided on the finger piece I! to limit its movement in response to the pressure of the spring 43.

The operation of the time delay device is dependent upon the resistance of the suction cup to movement along the surface of the plate ll. 1 find that this particular construction has one distinct advantage over suction cup devices and rubber creeping devices heretofore used in the art. This particular advantage lies in the selfcorrection of the devices for variations in temperature. In rubber creeping devices that are used for timing purposes, a fall in temperature causes a. slower rate of creeping while a rise in temperature would increase the rate 01 creep. When a suction cup depends upon a leak through a small aperture, it is obvious that the aperture will be closed more when the material is soft than when it is hardened by the cold. Therefore, those suction cups which depend upon leakage through an aperture have a variable rate of release in response to temperature changes. The present device works in the following fashion. When the device gets colder, there is a tendency of the suction cup to creep more slowly along the surface of the cup ll. However, the cold also shrinks the suction cup so that the force or pull upon it is increased enough to offset the lessened creep. When the device is heated u the creep rate increases, but the suction cup expands so that the force making it creep is reduced. I find that within a temperature range from near zero upwardsto F., the timing variation is less than 10%.

It is believed that the nature and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a lever operable to move the circuit control member between the contact-making and contact-opening position, a suction cup operatively connected with said lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the lever is in "on" position of the switch whereby the pull on the lever is utilized to move the suction cup away from the plate after its grip on the plate is broken.

2. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a toggle lever operable to move the circuit control member between the contact-making andcontact-openlng position, a suction cup carried by said toggle lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the toggle lever is in "on" position of the switch whereby the pull on the toggle lever is utilized to move the suction cup away from the plate after its grip on the plate is broken, said plate being adjustable angularly with respect to the suction cup to change the time of release of the suction cup from the plate.

3. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a toggle lever operable to move the circuit control member between the contact-making and contact-opening position, a suction cup carried by said toggle lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the toggle lever is in "on" position of the switch whereby the pull on the toggle lever is utilized to move the suction cup away Irom the plate after its grip on the plate is broken, and means pivotally mounting said plate whereby it may be tilted with respect to the suction cup.

4. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a lever operable to move the circuit controlmember between the contact-making and contact-opening position, a suction cup operatively connected with said lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the lever is in on position of the switch whereby the pull on the lever is utilized to move the suction cup away from the plate after its grip on the plate is broken, and manually operable release means for lifting the suction cup from the plate.

5. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a lever operable to move the circuit control member between the contact-making and contact-opening position, a suction cup operatively connected with said lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the lever is in "on" position of the switch whereby the pull on the lever is utilized to move the suction cup away from the plate after its grip on the plate is broken, and manually operable release means for lifting the suction cup from the plate, said release means being operable by the same means that actuates the lever.

6. A delayed action switch mechanism comprising a circuit control member, a lever operable to move the circuit control member between the contact-making and contact-opening position, a suction cup operatively connected with said lever, and a plate positioned to be engaged by said suction cup when the lever is in "on" position of the switch whereby the pull on the lever is utilized to move the suction cup away from the plate after its grip on the plate is broken, and manually operable release means for lifting the suction cup from the plate, said means comprising a plunger movabl parallel to the plate beneath a portion or the suction cup.

7. A time delay switch comprising a receptacle having means adjacent one wall thereof for mounting two spaced stationary contacts. stationary contacts mounted by said means and a bridging contact, a shaft carried by said wall of the receptacle pivotally mounting said bridging contact for movement into and out of engagement with said stationary contacts, a toggle mechanism including a toggle lever and an operating handle for effecting movement of said bridging contact and time delay means associated with said toggle lever comprising a suction cup and a plate member in engagement with each other when the toggle lever is in position to close the bridging contact between said stationary contacts.

THOMAS J. MUDON. 

